Square Enix gauges public response to potential Final Fantasy VII PS3 overhaulIt would appear that the Square Enix Party 2005's compilation trailer featuring clips from all the upcoming titles also showed the same "Final Fantasy VII Technical Demonstration" that we saw at E3. This of course means absolutely nothing, and certainly not that the company is in fact considering actually developing a remake of the title for the Playstation 3. Right? IGN

World of Mana confirmed as polymorphic multi-genre outingWhile this much was pretty obvious from the start, World of Mana will in fact be a new franchise based on the revisitation of the universe crafted with the Mana series previously. "The Legend Lives On. Epic new tales in the Mana series are in the midst of being spun. From past to present, and on to the future, the Mana series continues to evolve. Glimpse the many facets of the World of Mana through a multitude of platforms -- glimpses that will soon unfold into an unforgettable fantasy experience. The day you can next step into the world of Mana is drawing near." -- multiplatform, several genres, and probably with online support in some fashion. Aside from the already announced Seiken Densetsu DS, however, platforms for the franchise ar up in the air. IGN

Advent Children set to appear on Japanese silver screenThat's right. The news emerged just recently after the Square Enix Party trailer of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, when Square Enix announced that the movie would be set to appear in theaters across Japan on September 10th, just a few days before its scheduled September 14th DVD and UMD release. Naturally, no such plans have been announced with consideration to North American screenings, probably because of this. Our American readers may now commence pouting.

Rescue Rangers in exciting Kingdom Hearts formSince the confirmation of the Pirates of the Caribbean world in the upcoming Kingdom Hearts II, a new slew of characters are making their way into the game. Included in the gang are Chip and Dale, Merlin, and Pirates character's Will Turner and Captain Barbosa. Now that we know they're involved; somehow, whatever's wrong will get solved. RPG Fan

Matsuno off FFXII team, says 1up"Former director Yasumi Matsuno is no longer working on Final Fantasy XII" -- if we're to believe 1up's investigative reporting, then Matsuno is officially no longer involved with the game. "When part of the FFXII team was said to have left Square-Enix for Hironobu Sakaguchi's new development studio, Mist Walker, Matsuno was reported to have not shown up for work for a month until the crisis was resolved." What's he working on now? Not even 1up knows: "In fact, we're not sure what Matsuno is working on now, and whether he was kicked off the team or if he voluntarily removed himself, although he is still said to be at Square." Once again, Sakaguchi screwed everything up! 1up FFXII article

FFXII delay and Matsuno mystery finally explainedAlthough Yasumi Matsuno, revered visionary responsible for such exceptional works of art as Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story, remains listed as the man credited for "original concept/scenario/supervision" on Final Fantasy XII, he has apparently been very ill for a long time, which would explain 1up's earlier comments about him not being at work for a month. In a message on the official website, Matsuno mentions his regret for being uninvolved for so long but that the project is in good hands now: indeed, Hiroyuki Ito (director of FFIX) and Hiroshi Minagawa (Matsuno's Quest buddy) have taken over directing, and the rest of the staff hasn't really changed much. He also states that he's well again and that the project will meet its targeted release date of March 16, 2006 in Japan. Akitoshi Kawazu replaces Hironobu Sakaguchi as the series' executive producer. FF12.com

PS3 could be pushed to 2007 if conditions favor SonyAccording to a report by Wedbush Morgan Securities, Sony could dely the PS3's launch into the early part of 2007. The basis for the projection rests on the production cost of the current PS2 and the soon to be released Xbox 360. If events go as predicted, Sony will drop the PS2's price to $99 around the launch of the Xbox 360. Because the PS2 costs less than $99 to produce, it would serve as a distraction to the higher priced 360 and help counteract a likely $99 Xbox, which would still sell at a loss. If the launch proves to be lackluster due to the cheapened PS2, it's successor console could easily be delayed into 2007, giving Sony plenty of time to produce units to meet demands. Ultimately, however, the release date rests on the success of the 360 and its launch. GameSpot

Next-gen Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest may see publication on multiple platformsJapanese newspaper Mainichi received some more exclusive information snippets in the form of Wada commenting that the next-gen FF and DQ games may be released on two or more platforms. He didn't mention which two, however, although at this point it doesn't mean anything considering Nintendo is tightlipped about any announcements. Nevertheless, Wada argues that releasing its two primary franchises across platforms would allow the company to appeal to a wider audience, which is just common sense, really. Look to Final Fantasy XI for an example of how Square Enix may approach the problem (and consider the platform independent PlayOnline model while you do).

Square Enix announces online magazineShowing that they have gone completely off the deep end, Square Enix introduced their online magazine, a periodical equipped with columns and developer interviews, as well as information on upcoming games, publications, movies and goods. For free, Japanese readers can subscribe and await their first August 5th edition. With this, the final cogs are in place, and the monolithic Square Enix machine begins to churn out polymorphic madness. Click for insanity

Scorpions and Megadeth rockers on Heavy Metal ThunderYeah, so, okay. Per Insertcredit, who can read Japanese, the following: "[...] for the opening theme, Japanese schlock rock group Sex Machineguns will be playing with Michael Shenker, of Scorpions and MSG fame (he's inexplicably popular in Japan, and referenced in pop culture as easily as Jimmy Hendrix would be). Also featured, Marty Friedman from Megadeth and Hawaii." and "[...] the game is command-based robot fighting, called 'robo-ress' (a play on puroresu, short for 'pro wrestling')". The main character is now named, as "denki akihabara": "Akihabara is of course the big electronics district in Tokyo, also referred to as 'electric town'. Denki indicated electricity, so there's a dual pun there." I certainly approve of this news. insertcredit

Advent Children soundtrack prepped for releaseAs recently announced by Square Enix, the two-disc original soundtrack for upcoming DVD/UMD movie Advent Children will find a Japanese release for sale and import on September 28. Following several days after Advent Children's September 13/14 release date, the album will be priced 3000 yen ($27.39 USD). Samples are available as background music on the movie's official websites. Listen

Square Enix ventures Taito acquisitionSquare Enix intends to purchase a 67% stake in Taito, notable for Puzzle Bobble, Space Invaders and Bust-a-Move titles. Taito has expressed favor to the acquisition, and will become a Square Enix subsidy if and when the 67% stake is purchased. With this latest acquisition, Square Enix is well on the way to becoming Japan's leading gaming conglomerate, just as well as beloved Final Fantasy characters are surely well on their way to being whored out to Taito franchised games. 1UP

Chrono Trigger Revolution-bound?Rumours are circulating that Nintendo Power has confirmed Chrono Trigger as a possible element of the Nintendo Revolution's backwards compatible retro "Virtual Console" feature, which would confirm that Square Enix is involved in the online download plan laid out by Nintendo at E3 earlier this year. This would presumably mean good things, like other old Squaresoft games from back in the day when jaded old fogeys like ourselves still endeavoured to play games without bitter, cynical controversy. Ahh. Gamefront

Kitase: Final Fantasy VII remake will take 5 yearsSpeaking in an interview with American magazine EGM, Final Fantasy director Yoshinori Kitase spoke out about a potential Final Fantasy VII remake, saying that if Square Enix were to seriously pursue such a project, it would require a staff of 300 and take 5 years. Nomura commented as well, stating that even if the team were to come together to produce a new version of the game, the various members are currently too caught up in their own projects to be able to reserve any time for it. EGM speculated that the possibility of a FF7 remake lies out of reach as long as the next PS3 game to be created is Final Fantasy XIII. 1up

Final Fantasy IV heads to GBA"Fans can rejoice", says Square Enix, because a port Final Fantasy IV for GBA will arrive in the US on December 12th. On top of that, "additional game elements have been added", including "new towns, caves and mountains". Even though I can't remember exactly how many the original had, the GBA version will sport 12 playable characters with "new abilities, spells and items" and who "join and leave the party at different parts of the quest to keep the game fresh." No word yet as to whether the graphics have been polished up to match those of FFI-II.